Employee Leave

Dr. Anne Schuchat, an official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testified that the CDC advises people to stay home from work for three to five days if they come down with swine flu. The organization encourages employers to institute flexible leave policies ‘so it’s easy for your employees to do the right thing.’

About 1.9 million New Yorkers don’t get paid sick leave, according to a new study. More than 70 percent of low-income workers without paid sick leave reported working sick in the past year, while 30 percent sent a sick child to school because they couldn't take time off.

Employers must return to work employees who have been released by their doctors to work and who can perform essential job duties and responsibilities of their positions. Where requested or necessary, reasonable accommodations should be discussed with the employee.

Employers are advised to engage in an interactive process with employees seeking job accommodation. The Americans with Disabilities Act does not require employers to accommodate employees by assigning other workers to take over the duties of a disabled employee.

The HR organization’s China Miner Gorman warns that the legislation mandating paid sick days would foist new requirements on employers that could turn out to be as difficult and costly to administer as the Family and Medical Leave Act—whose 200 pages of regulations she held up at the hearing.

Employers should rely on opinions and recommendations of health care providers in considering possible accommodations, as well as in determining if an employee has the ability to perform essential job functions.

The recent National Defense Authorization Act contains a provision that amends the Family and Medical Leave Act to provide new forms of leave for military families. Here's what employers need to know to ensure they're in compliance with this complex set of regulations that went into effect this year.